Alex Reid
Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann says “there will be no new 16-cylinder” engine in their supercars going forward.
Bugatti will ditch the W16 engine that has been in production since 2005, when we first saw it in the Veyron. Since it’s inception, it has gone through multiple stages of tune, from the 1000-horsepower “base model” Veyron to the 1500-horsepower monster in the recently-released Chiron Divo.
In order to keep up with the Joneses, Bugatti will be moving on to more the more popular hybrid technology that most of the big boys have been playing with. McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche all have a hybrid-electric set up in their range-topping hypercars, so for Bugatti to stay on the cutting edge, it must change.
Winkelmann states that with the weight of batteries going down dramatically, and the emissions benefits you get with a hybrid powertrain, it’s worth looking into. He also says “it has to be a solution that is credible for people who are buying Bugattis today.”
People who are buying Bugattis are probably less concerned about the environmental toll and more concerned about going fast, and Bugatti knows this. Therefore, if hybridization doesn’t spin buyers’ heads around, then it probably won’t spin the wheels of the next model either.
Winkelmann previously worked for Lamborghini, where he stressed that power-to-weight ratio is the most important factor in building a sports car, and until recently, batteries were just too heavy. Although the Divo still weighs 4,400 pounds, adding batteries will only make it worse, so something has got to give.
Unfortunately, the weak link in the race for more speed is that wonderful W16.
Source: Driving
